halfacanuck

The plan, which will cost an estimated £200m (US$390m), will only use offsetting as a last resort. Instead they're going to:

• Source as much food as possible from the UK and Ireland to reduce transport emissions, with labels to identify food that's been flown into the country
• Ensure all of their clothing and packaging is recyclable
• Manufacture polyester clothing from recycled plastic bottles instead of oil
• Trial the use of food waste to power its stores
• Stop sending any waste to landfill

And they're going to do all this without passing the cost on to their customers.

(Their press release has lots of details.)

They're calling this mammoth project "Plan A" because, says Rose, "there is no plan B." He also notes that "this is a deliberately ambitious and, in some areas, difficult plan. We don't have all the answers but we are determined to work with our suppliers, partners and Government to make this happen. Doing anything less is not an option."

Sure, I expect they're hoping to cash in on the increasing concern expressed for environmental issues, but who cares? That's what businesses do. And far from just dumping cash into offsets (though that is of course much better than doing nothing) M&S is actually putting some effort into this. A whole shitload of effort, in fact. What a fantastic demonstration of the corporate sector leading by example. May many follow.

Mr. Rose, I'm proud to announce that you're the first ever recipient of the Halfacanuck Prize for Being Cool as Fuck. I'm not sure what the prize actually is yet, but I guarantee it'll be recyclable.